Wednesday, October 6, 2010

In my meetings with Ward 6 residents, only one family brought this issue to my attention as one of the candidates promised to bring this facility to a park in Ward 6. 
Working closely with the Director of Recreation and Culture for the past 5 years, am fully aware that Splash Pads have been on the Town of Newmarket's priority list for the past couple of years.  It is not a new idea that has come forward.

There are many issues to consider before investing in a facility of this nature.  My investigations of late have produced some very disturbing information regarding the health hazards to young children who will be utilizing these facilities.

Based on an article published in August 2010, the Centre for Disease Control and the Ontario Public Health Association made the following observations:

  • "children, toddlers and immunocompromised individuals are considered a high risk segment of the population and thus more susceptible to the transmission and/or outbreak of waterborne disease."
  • "the behaviour of children at play, combined with the way they use splash pads, spray fountains, water slides/rides and other wet play apparatus can directly expose them to exposure through many entry points within the body."
Health impacts include contracting diseases such as E.coli and Cryptosporidium, as well as bacterial and viral infections of the ears, eyes, nose, throat, skin and urinary tract.

  • "Last year (2009) Canada and the United States experienced an increase in waterborne Crypto outbreaks associated with the use of splash pads, while outbreaks of other pathogens, such as E.coli have also been linked to spray parks".
As Splash Pads are costly ventures, some municipalities have applied for and received funding to build new wet play recreational facilities, with the pressure to reduce energy, water use, and overhead costs.  One of the options is to use recycled water:
  • "Major concerns have been associated with splash pads that are operated with recycled water and/or holding tanks as standard pool filtration chlorination are not effective against Cryptosporidium".
As a result of the public health hazards described above, the Ontario Public Health Association has passed a resolution for the government to provide guidance and develop regulations to protect the public.  As a result a new guidance document has been issued and will be used by all public health units in Ontario. 

In order to reduce the impact to public safety, and specifically to our young children many safeguards must be in place.  These facilities require the same maintainance as our pools, and need to be staffed accordingly.  For this reason, they should be constructed either at the Magna Centre Pool, RJT Complex Pool or the Gorham Pool.

Having done my homework, and producing the facts regarding this matter as per above, I would support Splash Pads in Newmarket, but at locations already equipped to manage these facilities.